by jamesinclair
I am going to Philly tomorrow. I plan on purchasing my tickets from an NJT machine and transfer in Trenton to Septa. I hope they let me get off downtown.
Railroad Forums
Moderator: AlexC
A majority of SEPTA riders live outside of Center City and ride a bus, making it tough to find loading zones. SEPTA has offered an alternative to in-person loading — registering your card to an online account, where you can add money with a debit or credit card. But that's hard for un- or under-banked Philadelphians, who make up an estimated 28 percent of the city[.]
[...]
These commuters who can't conveniently purchase or reload their Key cards end up having to pay more. The Key cost is $2 per ride, while the cash fare is $2.50, a 25 percent increase. The surcharge for a transfer is even higher, at 150 percent. It's $1 with a Key card, $2.50 without. If riders don't own a Key card, or have too low a balance, they have to pay $2.50 for the first ride plus an additional $2.50 for the connecting. A Key card rider pays $6 for a round trip, while a cash rider pays $10.
Ryand-Smith wrote:They should have partnered with check cashing places to give them a supply of key cards and a basic loader (I could literally make one with an NFC reader, a 100 dollar android tablet, and internet access), and give them out to check cashing places which have late hours so you can say cash your check, load your Key card [...]^^^This!
dcipjr wrote:Is there any ETA on when the Key will be able to do trips on the Regional Rail?Zone 1 and 2 trailpasses aren't even able to be loaded on a Key card yet--only zone 3 and 4/Anywhere so far. Travel Wallet use on rail seems like a distant pipe dream at this point. I hear you can add an Independence Pass on the card, but it's only via the currently clunky website. :-/
MACTRAXX wrote:The current topic on the SEPTA Key has been dormant for a couple of weeks ...MACTRAXXOK, bumping the thread ... based on what I'm hearing, it looks like SEPTA no longer plans to install TVMs / kiosks at most outlying RRD stations. That leaves occasional and discretionary riders pretty much in the same straits they were pre-Key; i.e. if you can't get a card or ticket in advance, you're stuck paying cash on-board - including of course the surcharge. Bottom line, non-"ideal" riders get shafted and conductors still have to process cash. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that, given all of the Key's missteps, yet another one isn't causing more of a fuss no matter how inconvenient it is for riders.
JeffK wrote:I'm not surprised, SEPTA never intended to add TVM's to outlying railroad stations. Which i think is so stupid on many levels. They are missing the point of making their fare system accessible in anyway possible. If they was smart, they would have developed a ticket app for mobile devices for people whom cant access a ticket vending machine. They are so slow.MACTRAXX wrote:The current topic on the SEPTA Key has been dormant for a couple of weeks ...MACTRAXXOK, bumping the thread ... based on what I'm hearing, it looks like SEPTA no longer plans to install TVMs / kiosks at most outlying RRD stations. That leaves occasional and discretionary riders pretty much in the same straits they were pre-Key; i.e. if you can't get a card or ticket in advance, you're stuck paying cash on-board - including of course the surcharge. Bottom line, non-"ideal" riders get shafted and conductors still have to process cash. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that, given all of the Key's missteps, yet another one isn't causing more of a fuss no matter how inconvenient it is for riders.
The imbalance on the transit side seems no closer to resolution, either: https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/ph ... -septa-key
Head-end View wrote:Is it possible that SEPTA has gotten a reality check and realized that it's just not feasible to completely eliminate cash-on-train fares?I’d say no. You’d rationally* expect them to at least try to minimize on-board cash, but I can’t see how things will be much different from the pre-Key days. No TVMs at most stations and limited options for open payment is where the RRD's been for decades, so I don’t see any way the number of cash fares is gonna drop much if at all.